Carers set to earn £45 a week more without losing entitlement to Carer's Allowance

MSE_Molly_G

If you're an unpaid carer, you'll soon be able to earn £45 more a week without losing your entitlement to Carer's Allowance. The move has been announced by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves in today's Autumn Budget. From 7 April 2025, the earnings limit for carers will rise from £151 to £196 – but earn a penny over this and you'll still see the entire benefit clawed back.

Read the full story:

Autumn Budget: Carers set to earn £45 a week more without losing benefit – but there's no change to the cliff-edge

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Brie

Glad it's happening but ridiculous to have to wait that long.

Indie_Kid

A start. They really need to sort out the cliff edge. 

marcia_

 Good but I still believe that carers allowance payments should be higher to come in line with other income replacement benefits. 

Cyclamen

This is a good start.

However no change for those whose caring roles prevent them from working. 

pennyfarthing66

Once again carers who aren't able to work have been forgotten. Uprating the actual Carers Allowance amount would have benefitted more people.

born_again

pennyfarthing66 said:

Once again carers who aren't able to work have been forgotten. Uprating the actual Carers Allowance amount would have benefitted more people.

Agree, & more of the lower paid workers could have stopped working to give better care. Might have even freed up many of the overworked staff that care for people, as their carer would be there to do that work.

Robbie64

marcia_ said:

 Good but I still believe that carers allowance payments should be higher to come in line with other income replacement benefits. 

When first introduced in 1976 (as Invalid Care Allowance), Carer's Allowance was paid at 60% of the then basic state pension amount. It continued to be paid at 60% of the basic state pension amount until 2001 which was also when the name of the benefit was changed to Carer's Allowance. I'm assuming it was at this point that the benefit switched to being uprated at the same % as most other benefits (CPI or whatever the equivalent was at the time) rather than whatever was used to uprate the state pension. Had the policy of paying CA at 60% of the basic state pension amount continued, Carer's Allowance would now be £101.70 per week.

Murphybear

Brie said:

Glad it's happening but ridiculous to have to wait that long.

I’ve noticed over the years that when people actually gain something in the Budget it doesn’t start until the following April.  When, whatever it is, gives the government more money it often starts the following day.

I used to work in a big London Post Office and in those days most people got their car tax over the counter.  When the Chancellor put the cost of car tax up from the following day we suddenly got a big queue in the PO.  It was a nightmare sometimes when people hadn’t brought all their documents such as MOT in and we had blazing rows (well, as nice as we could) when the customer realised they didn’t have enough time to go home and fetch it before we closed.  Some of them thought if they argued loud enough and yelled at us long enough we would give in.  We had to be tough in those days 

HillStreetBlues

Indie_Kid said:

A start. They really need to sort out the cliff edge. 

Not going to happen, they would have looked at two options either taper the allowance or increase it and still have the cliff edge, the second is a lot cheaper to process.

MouldyOldDough

marcia_ said:

 Good but I still believe that carers allowance payments should be higher to come in line with other income replacement benefits. 

Labours Pre-election manifesto promised a straight £20 per week raise in carers allowance

This obviously never happened !!

instead Reeves claims "Turning to carer’s allowance: She says the government is increasing the amount people can earn before they lose the benefit. It will rise to the equivalent of more than £10,000 a year, she says. She says this is “the largest increase in carers allowance since it was introduced in 1976”.

How, exactly is this a single penny increase in carers allowance ?

It simply is permission to work another job AND hence pay more in TAXES !!

My wife could not work another job even if she has permission - she is knackered from looking after me , probably 80 hours per week for just £83.29